As a Burner – a participant of Burning Man – Moop means Matter out of Place.
Seems appropriate.
Somehow, I read this as:
“we’re travelling, not trainspotting”
Yeah, if they had thrown a blanket over their guns and stopped to refuel at a gas station, instead of using their own gas cans on the side of the road, no one would have noticed them. Some militia groups are dangerous, but these ones seem mostly just dumb. But sometimes dumb armed people are manipulated by smarter evil people.
Yup. Some of these groups are really dangerous.
Apparently they meant to go up to NH or Maine. Still pretty terrible planning and execution of the maneuver.
Well, they had their first day in court . . . and it was apparently a doozy (for the judge at least).
Paywall/incognito mode needed, but a few key bits.
The court proceedings happened in a stop-and-start fashion, as the men, clad in camouflage, used fake names, waived their rights to lawyers, denied that the court of law had jurisdiction over them and talked over Malden District Court Judge Emily A. Karstetter.
In Cumberlander’s case, he declared himself to be a “foreign national” and repeatedly objected to the charges brought against him.
So, yup, sounds like SovCit - adjacent language and general tactics, although they repeatedly claim not to be SovCits. Which to my mind sounds like “SovCit’s are crazy, don’t confuse us. We’re the real owners of the land.”
Seems to have most of the same info without paywall/adblock/incognito tactics.
They are 100% sovereign citizens. They use the same tactics and arguments. I don’t care what they claim. It’s a duck.
More CTisms, as the group involved is filing a federal suit against the state alleging that MASS has not jurisdiction over them. Of course, my sentence makes more sense than their charges do.
The suit filed by Rise of the Moors in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island last week alleges “defamation, discrimination of national origin and deprivation of their rights under the color of law.”
“If the state courts continue their unlawful prosecution and or conviction, they will be violating the claimants civil, national and human rights,” the suit says. It seeks $70 million in damages.
The Massachusetts State Police and several individual troopers, the judge who presided over their arraignments, the state as a whole, and several media organizations are named as defendants.
Be careful or you might find yourself part of the lawsuit.
Since I feel responsible for the thread, here’s an update from last month -
The quote (and another) are being evaluated as the judge is trying to determine if they are safe to be released.
“They don’t have jurisdiction over me with anything,” Jimenez shouted as the court clerk read the charges. “I am not a U.S. citizen.” He and the other members of the groups said they are sovereign citizens of Moroccan descent and not subject to federal or state laws.
Also in the article as related news, their efforts to sue for lack of jurisdiction and defamation have been tossed.
Rhode Island-based U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. said in his decision “this court must abstain from hearing such challenges” based on a precedent “which reflects a longstanding policy against federal court interference with state court proceedings.”
McConnell’s ruling said there is “an absence of any clear defamation allegations” in the suit, which sought $70 million in damages.
So, same SovCit (with fine Moorish flavor!) and same results.
Any recent updates? Are these clowns still in custody?
Pretty minimal updates, but a few. Most recent summary article (that I could find) for those who’ve forgotten these individuals in light of all the other crazy -
In short, the $70 million dollar lawsuit they filed was tossed, and they’re all apparently still in jail
Bey has not spoken to his codefendants in months—he says he is intentionally being kept apart from them, which hinders their ability to mount an effective defense. The group has also fractured outside of the jail. “It’s just really messy,” Bey’s partner, Julisa El, told me. She says the group’s members are scared and distancing themselves from one another because they don’t want to be publicly connected to an organization that media outlets have linked to anti-government extremism and so-called paper terrorism, a term for filing frivolous lawsuits.
Oh and he feels that they are innocent, and only being prosecuted because they’re black, when white Militias get a pass, which … probably would be valid, at least in certain states (like the example he mentioned in Texas), which seems to ignore the fact that their actions were in a state with decidedly less permissive gun laws. 
I do note that last paragraph (which I’ve paraphrased above) seems to be pushing a lot more on the traditional interpretation of rights and duties, and a lot less on the SovCit stuff they tried earlier, but we’ll have to wait until we know more if they’re going to pivot to a more proven legal strategy.
Bumping the thread (over 3 years since the start) as at least some of the participants have now been convicted:
WOBURN - Two men who claimed to be part of the “Rise of the Moors” group have been found guilty for their roles in the 2021 standoff on I-95 in Massachusetts.
Jamhal Latimer was found guilty of unlawful possession of a large capacity weapon, unlawful possession of a large capacity feeding device, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a shotgun or rifle, improper storage of a rifle or shotgun near a minor, use or wearing body armor during a felony and unlawful possession of ammunition. Steven Anthony Perez was found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm and use or wearing body armor during a felony.
As I mentioned last time I bumped this, this all fell out of news fast and since has not gotten a lot of attention.
No mention of the others involved and later arrested, and this article, from June of 2024, says sentencing will be next (now last) month. No additional information found in a quick search.
Nice! Thanks for the update.
Here you go…